Formation | 1812 |
---|---|
City charter | Columbus City Charter |
Website | www |
Legislative branch | |
Legislature | Columbus City Council |
Meeting place | Columbus City Hall |
Executive branch | |
Mayor | Andrew Ginther (List of mayors) |
Appointer | Election |
Headquarters | Columbus City Hall |
The government of Columbus, Ohio , headquartered at Columbus City Hall in Downtown Columbus, is organized into a mayor-council system. The mayor is responsible for the administration of city government. The Columbus City Council is a unicameral body consisting of seven members elected or appointed at-large. The city has numerous government agencies, responsible for public education, health, and safety; emergency services; recreational facilities; sanitation; water supply; and welfare services.
The city government operates a campus of facilities at the downtown Columbus Civic Center, including the Michael B. Coleman Government Center, its 77 North Front St. offices, the Columbus Division of Police Headquarters, a city park, and a municipal parking garage.
The city is administered by a mayor and a seven-member unicameral council elected in two classes every two years to four-year terms at large. Columbus is the largest city in the United States that elects its city council at large as opposed to districts.
The village of Columbus was organized in 1816, four years after the city's founding, with a nine-member council and its first mayor, Jarvis Pike. Columbus became a city in 1834, and it was divided into three wards, each with four councilmembers. [1] The current seven-member council was established in 1914; several proposals were rejected in subsequent decades to increase the number of seats as the city grew. Ward systems were proposed in 1968, 1975, 2012, and 2016. [2] In 2018, city residents approved a new nine-member council, still voted in at-large, though with each councilmember representing a city ward. As of 2021, a districting commission is creating council districts for city representation. [3]
The mayor appoints the director of safety and the director of public service. The people elect the auditor, municipal court clerk, municipal court judges, and city attorney. A charter commission, elected in 1913, submitted, in May 1914, a new charter offering a modified Federal form, with a number of progressive features, such as nonpartisan ballot, preferential voting, recall of elected officials, the referendum, and a small council elected at large. The charter was adopted, effective January 1, 1916. Andrew Ginther has been the mayor of Columbus since 2016. [4]
Columbus City Hall holds the offices and meeting spaces for the mayor and city council. The building was first completed in 1928, replacing the old City Hall on Capitol Square that stood as city hall from 1872 to 1921. Before 1872, the city government was based out of Central Market, a downtown market house and office building. The mayor and city council first met there in 1850; before then there was no official meeting space for the city government. The state constitution, rewritten in 1850, created more power and duties for city mayors, also creating a need for a more formal space. Lorenzo English was the first mayor to take on these duties and operate from this new City Hall. [5]
City Hall makes up part of the Columbus Civic Center. The civic center also includes the Michael B. Coleman Government Center holds offices for the departments of building & zoning services, public service, development, and public utilities. Also nearby is 77 North Front St., which holds Columbus's city attorney office, income-tax division, public safety, human resources, civil service, and purchasing departments. The structure, built in 1930, was the police headquarters until 1991, and was then dormant until it was given a $34 million renovation from 2011 to 2013. [6]
The civic center also includes the Columbus Division of Police Headquarters, a municipal parking structure, the City Commons park, and the Beacon Building, a former city office building now vacant and for sale. The civic center historic district also includes state and federal offices and courthouses.
Municipal police duties are performed by the Columbus Division of Police, [7] while fire protection and Emergency Medical Services is through the Columbus Division of Fire.
Departments include:
City government agencies:
Governmental agencies related to the city government, but operating independently, include:
Columbus is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and the third-most populous state capital. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses 10 counties in central Ohio. The metropolitan area had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest in the U.S.
Dublin City Council is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was known as Dublin Corporation. The council is responsible for public housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture and environment. The council has 63 elected members and is the largest local council in Ireland. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the honorific title of Lord Mayor. The city administration is headed by a Chief Executive, Owen Keegan. The council meets at City Hall, Dublin.
The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two four-year terms. The City and County of Honolulu's elected officials include the mayor, the prosecuting attorney, and councilmembers representing nine districts.
Michael B. Coleman is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd mayor of Columbus, Ohio. He was the first African-American to serve as the mayor of Ohio's capital city.
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-large positions; all elections are non-partisan. It has the sole responsibility of approving the city's budget, and develops laws and policies intended to promote the health and safety of Seattle's residents. The Council passes all legislation related to the city's police, firefighting, parks, libraries, and electricity, water supply, solid waste, and drainage utilities. (The mayor of Seattle is not considered part of council.)
The City of Tulsa has a mayor-council form of government. This form of government has been in place since 1989, at which time Tulsa converted from a city commission form of government. The mayor is elected by the entire population and each of the 9 Councilors are elected from districts based on population.
The Columbus Division of Police (CPD) is the main policing unit for the city of Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. It is the largest police department in the state of Ohio, and among the twenty-five largest in the United States. It is composed of twenty precincts and numerous other investigative and support units. Chief Elaine Bryant assumed leadership of the Division in 2021. Special units of the Columbus Division of Police include a Helicopter Unit, Canine Unit, Mounted Unit, Community Response Teams, Marine Park Unit, and Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).
Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad and High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner Belt. Downtown is home to most of the tallest buildings in Columbus.
The Government of Indianapolis—officially the Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County—is a strong-mayor form of mayor-council government system. Local government is headquartered downtown at the City-County Building.
The government of Los Angeles operates as a charter city under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The elected government is composed of the Los Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and the mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor–council government, as well as several other elective offices. The current mayor is Eric Garcetti, the current city attorney is Mike Feuer and the current city controller is Ron Galperin.
The Government of Fresno County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, law, and the Charter of the County of Fresno. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Fresno County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
Cleveland City Hall is the seat of government for the City of Cleveland, Ohio, and the home of Cleveland City Council and the office of the Mayor of Cleveland. It opened in 1916 and is located at 601 Lakeside Avenue in the Civic Center area of Downtown Cleveland. The building was the first of its kind designed by Cleveland architect J. Milton Dyer for governmental purposes for a major U.S. city. At the time of its construction, City Hall was to continue the city planning of Daniel Burnham's 1903 Group Plan. City Hall stands as a historic landmark that was added to the Cleveland Landmarks Commission.
Municipal elections were held in San Diego in 2016 for mayor, city attorney, city council, and ballot measures. The primary election was held on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Five of the nine council seats were contested. Two city council incumbents ran for reelection.
Columbus City Hall is the city hall of Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. It contains the offices of the city's mayor, auditor, and treasurer, and the offices and chambers of Columbus City Council.
The Columbus Civic Center is a civic center, a collection of government buildings, museums, and open park space in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The site is located along the Scioto Mile recreation area and historically was directly on the banks of the Scioto River.
The George Floyd protests are an ongoing series of protests and civil disturbances that initially started in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota, United States, before spreading nationwide. In Columbus, Ohio, unrest began on May 28, 2020, two days after incidents began in Minneapolis. The events are a reaction to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, asphyxiating him.
The Michael B. Coleman Government Center is a municipal office building of Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. The building, completed in 2018, is named for former mayor Michael Coleman.
77 North Front Street is a municipal office building of Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. The building, originally built as the Central Police Station in 1930, operated in that function until 1991. After about two decades of vacancy, the structure was renovated for city agency use in 2011.
The Columbus Division of Police Headquarters is the central office of the Columbus Division of Police, of Columbus, Ohio. The building is located in the city's downtown Civic Center. It is the fifth headquarters for the Columbus police department. The eight-story building was designed by Brubaker/Brandt in the postmodern style, and reflects elements of City Hall's design.
The Columbus City Prison was a municipal prison in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The building was constructed in 1879 in a castle-like style, designed by architect George H. Maetzel. The building served as a prison and headquarters of the Columbus Police Department until a fire demolished the structure in 1920.